Hurricane Felix (1989)
Hurricane Felix was the sixth named storm and fourth hurricane of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season. Felix was one of several Cape Verde hurricanes during mid-August and early September. Felix followed a path similar to Erin, and did not affect land. Felix caused no damage and no deaths. Hurricane Felix on September 6 http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/298/felixmg4.jpg Formation August 26, 1989 Dissipation September 9, 1989 Highest winds 85 mph Lowest pressure 979 mbar Deaths None Damages None Areas affected Cape Verde Islands Part of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season Meteorological history http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/6267/felix1989es7.png The precursor to Felix was a well-organized tropical wave on August 24. On August 25, the wave exited the coast of Africa near Dakar, Senegal and almost immediately organized into a tropical depression. On August 26, the depression strengthened into a tropical storm while located just north of the Cape Verde Islands. From August 27 to August 29, Felix drifted slowly to the north-northwest, the motion apparently caused by an upper-level trough that had persisted across the eastern Atlantic Ocean during the latter half of August. On August 29, Felix weakened to a tropical depression due to strong southwesterly vertical wind shear associated with the aforementioned upper trough. Felix, now in a weakened state, was steered northwestward by the low-level flow. During September 1 and 2, Felix began to drift northward as a weak frontal zone passed just north of the cyclone. In the wake of the front, an upper-level anticyclone developed atop Felix, which lowered the shear and provided an environment favorable for intensification. Consequently, deep convection redeveloped over the circulation center, and Felix regained tropical storm status on September 3. During September 3 and 4, Felix began moving to the west-northwest in response to the subtropical ridge located north of the storm. By September 5, Felix ceased moving westward due to two things: first, the approach of the much stronger and larger Hurricane Gabrielle, and secondly, a trough located to the northwest. As Felix drifted slowly northward from September 5 through September 7, its upper-level outflow became well-established, and consequently the storm reached hurricane strength. On September 7 and 8, a trough approached Felix from the west and produced strong southwesterly shear over the cyclone. Due to the shear, Felix weakened to a tropical storm on September 7, and accelerated northeastward by September 8. On September 9, Felix came under the influence of the westerlies and the cooler waters of the north-central Atlantic Ocean. Consequently, Felix became extratropical. On September 10, Felix's extratropical remnants moved southeastward and passed northeast of the Azores as a well-organized cyclone. On September 11 and 12, a blocking pattern over Europe forced Felix's remnants to the south, and Felix dissipated southeast of the Azores on September 15. Impact Felix produced winds as high as 35 mph in the northern portion of the Cape Verde Islands, but no damage or deaths were reported throughout the islands. Lack of Retirement Because it caused no damage, the name Felix was not retired following the season. It was, however, retired following its use in the 2007 season, and was replaced with Fernand for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. See also * NHC Felix report References http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1989-prelim/felix/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Felix External links 1989 Atlantic hurricane season